How do you discuss the events of Pearl Harbor?

Answer 1

I base my lecture off of Walter Lord's 'Day of Infamy' - I tend to backtrack to how the Japanese got their Intel - by posing as tourists, taking pictures, calling relatives that lived in the Hawaiian islands, etc. I start at :Approximately 6:30 in the morning there was a possible sighting of a Japanese mini sub in the harbor. The Ward was notified of a possible confrontation and they watched for signs of the sub. They saw, fired and sunk the sub. When the telegram was sent it stated that they sighted enemy submarine - it did NOT state that they had fired at and sunk it. So the telegram was put aside as another possible sighting.At 7:55 the first bomb was dropped on battleship row. A torpedo hit the side of the USS Oklahoma. The Oklahoma rolled onto its side and began to sink. The second ship hit was the USS Utah which took only 8 minutes to sink. By 8:10 - within 15 minutes of the beginning of the attack on battleship row - I estimate that of the 2,406 lost that day we had already lost 1,800 soldiers. The USS Arizona was hit just by then. When the Arizona was hit - it was hit by approximately 8 bombs. One might have been a torpedo but no one is positive. Of the 8 bombs to hit the Arizona - one traveled through the decks landing in over 1,000 pounds of gunpowder. When the bomb blew it ignited our gunpowder which blew a hole through 8 inches of steel separating the bombs we had stored in turn setting them off. 1,177 men were lost on that ship alone. I also mention that the Japanese had put special fittings on the torpedos made of wood so they would travel in shallower water than they were designed for. Which made the attack more successful.I also mention some of the rescue attempts made in the boats that were attacked.The two primary efforts to make rescues through the hulls of the boats were by drill or by torch. But each had a major drawback. When they used a torch to break through it burned the oxygen within the compartment and the men suffocated. If they used drills to open the hull it took longer than was available and the airpocket the men were surviving in would leak through the cut and the water rose causing those trapped to drown. There are 2 significant rescues that I mention - both from the Oklahoma - this information is from a History Channel Documentary - it is also on the end of the Pearl Harbor movie. One - there were 4 or 5 men trapped in a compartment and they took turns trying to swim to the top of the ship - which was facing the bottom of the harbor by now - the only one who succeeded was a sailor who did not know how to swim. He was able to point out where they were when he reached top side and the crews were able to drill through and rescue the rest. The other situation shows a group of 7 men trapped in a compartment. One finds a porthole when he kicked the side of the wall. The men were able to get the window open and 6 of the 7 were able to escape. The 7th was a carpenter who was built too big to fit through the window and he did not survive.I compare the story of Pearl Harbor characters Rafe and Danny to true heroes Lt Walsh and Lt Taylor who were able to get to their planes and fight the Japanese from the air. They went up twice and Taylor was hit early the second time up and had to land but between them they did take 6 or 7 Japanese planes out of the sky. Dorie Miller is also mentioned. He was a cook on the USS West Virginia who was able to get his captain who was mortally wounded below decks where he would be safe. He then took up one of the guns topside and shot down 1 or 2 planes himself. It may seem insignificant but the ships had been inspected by the Admiral the week before so ammunition was hard to find at first. And... Dorie not trained on the weapons. He received the Navy Cross for his efforts. He should have received the Medal of Honor but due to being African American he did not ... qualify... for the same recognition. The government did name a battleship after him in '72 in effort to make up for that.There were also B-17s coming in from the mainland which was why the radio played all night long acting as a beacon to guide them to the island. It inadvertantly helped the Japanese as well. They traveled without ammunition as well and they all landed but 1 pilot was lost after he landed.The Japanese reported seeing men throwing rocks at their planes when they were low enough for lack of another weapon. They also make a point of mentioning a marine who stood in the middle of an airstrip shooting his pistol at them even though they were out of range. To the Japanese this was impressive and incredibly courageous. The Japanese chose to send only 2 of the 3 waves of planes and returned to the Pacific. 110 minutes after the battle started - it was over. 2,406 Americans were lost, 68 of them were civilian.